Recruitment & Retention

Key to Success?

By Kevin Bushweller — June 15, 2007 1 min read
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For Benton Central High School junior Courtney Lavelle, the key to success was simply showing up.

Her school, in Oxford, Ind., has a plan to get kids motivated...at least to come to school, according to a story in the Journal & Courier newspaper. Each student with perfect attendance for the year wins a key that could unlock the door of a new car. Earlier this month, 27 students tried their keys and Ms. Lavelle was the lucky winner of a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu. According to Brad Harper, Benton Central’s attendance officer, the school had a 97 percent attendance rate this year.

But is this an appropriate way to motivate high school kids? Do the ends justify the means?

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A version of this news article first appeared in the Motivation Matters blog.